Shot protector

ABSTRACT

A one piece plastic shot protector for use with a shot shell, the shot protector having a lower or rearward gas obturating portion, and an upper or forward shot-receiving pocket. The shot pocket has a side wall including a plurality of adjacent petals of predetermined thickness, each of the petals being joined to the pedal next adjacent thereto by a thin web of plastic, and the terminal forward portion of each petal being outwardly flared. Wad retaining means may be included in the shot pocket.

United States Patent Moehlman et al. [451 June 13, 1972 [54] SHOTPROTECTOR 3,299,813 1/1967 Rickey 102/42 C [72] Inventors: Vernon C.Moehlman; Robert J. Klein, 3,487,779 1/1970 Hendricks 102/42 C both ofFlorissam, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Assigneer Olin MathiesonChemical Corporation 884,993 5/1943 France mm P! d: l [22] I e y 1969Primary Examiner-Robert F. Stahl [21] Appl. No.: 838,069 AttorneyH.Samuel Kieser, Donald R. Motsko and William W. Jones [52] U.S. Cl...l02/42 C, 102/95 [57] ABSTRACT [51] 58 Field of Search ..102/42 c, 95A one piece plastic Shot protector for use with a shot shell. the

shot protector having a lower or rearward gas obturating por- 5References Cied tion, and an upper or forward shot-receiving pocket. Theshot pocket has a side wall including a plurality of adjacent petalsUNITED STATES PATENTS of predetermined thickness, each of the petalsbeing joined to the pedal next adjacent thereto by a thin web ofplastic, and Kinney the tenninal forward portion of each petal beingoutwardly 190l9O 5/1877 Budd flared. Wad retaining means may be includedin the shot 317,041 5/1885 Sublett.. pockeh 1,823,160 971931 Paul3,266,421 8/1966 Comerford 102/42 C 8 Claims, 5 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDJUH 13 m2 mum FUN FIG '5 sum PROTECTOR This invention relates toa one-piece plastic shot protector for insertion into a shot shell tube,the protector providing a gas obturator and a shot pocket in which theshot are disposed.

In general, a one-piece plastic shot protector for use with a shotshell,and 'having a gas obturating portion and a shot pocket portion is old inthe art. Shop protectors of this character may include a lower orrearward hallowed end portion with an outwardly deflectable skirt, whichrearward end portion overlies the propellant charge in the shot shell.When the shell is fired, the skirt flares outwardly against the barrelbore to seal combustion gases -as the shot protector and shot charge arepropelled through the barrel. Shot protectors of this character also mayinclude an upper or forward end portion which defines a shop pockethaving a cylindrical side wall. The shot charge is disposed in the shotpocket and travels through the barrel bore with the protector when theshell is fired. The side wall of shot protector thus protects the shotcharge from contact with the barrel bore so that the shot pellets willexperience minimum abrasion and-compaction from the barrel bore as theshot charge passes through the barrel. A transverse web is included inthe shot protector to separate the gas obturator from the shot pocket.Furthermore, the side wall of the shop pocket may include a number oflongitudinal slits forming outwardly deflectable petals in the sidewall. The petals flare outwardly when the shot protector leaves the gunmuzzle, the flaring being triggered by air resistance, and the shotcharge then moves forward away from the protector while the latter fallsto the ground.

In assembling a shot shell using this variety of shot protector, theprotector is inserted into the shot shell tube and slid thereinto untilthe obturator overlies the propellant charge. The shot pocket is thenfilled with shot by pouring the latter into the mouth of the shell tube.The tube mouth is then closed by crimping or in any other conventionalmanner. A problem has been found to exist with respect to the loading ofthis type of shotshell. This problem concerns maintaining the petalsflush against the inside surface of the shot shell tube so that the shotpellets will not become lodged between the outer sur face of the petalsand the inner surface of the tube when the shot .is poured into 'theshot pocket. Pellets which lodge between the petals and the tube causethe petals to bend inwardly with the result that subsequent pelletsintroduced into the tube will lodge between the petals and the tube andwill not enter the shot pocket. These pellets will be abraded by thebarrel bore after firing and will result in a poor shot pattern.Furthermore, these pellets will score the barrel bore reducing the lifeexpectancy of the barrel.

Prior to the initial loading of the shot protector into the shell tube,the protectors may be stored for long periods of time and may undergosubstantial handling. Since the petals are rather fragile, they oftenare bent or creased prior to loading. Often one or more of the petalswill be bent inwardly into the shot pocket so that when the protector isinserted into the tube, the bent petals will not lie flat against theinside surface ofthe tube. Since the petals on the shot protectors ofthe prior art are unconnected and operate independently of each other,the other petals on the protector are not able to bring the bent petalinto proper position against the tube when the protector is insertedinto the tube. Thus shot loaded into the shot pocket will lodge betweenthe petals and the shell tube in an undesirable fashion.

The shot protector of this invention is formed with the upper or forwardterminal portions of the petals flared outwardly at an angle to the axisof the shot protector. Adjacent petals on the shot protector areconnected by a thin plastic membrane which is operative to lend thestrength of each petal to the adjacent petals. Thus any one petal willresist being bent inwardly since it is connected to the adjacent-petalsby the membranes. This resistance to deformation is greater than if thepetals were completely disassociated from adjacent petals. The flaredend portions of the petals are stressingly pressed against the innerwall of the shotshell tube and thus closely adjacent thereto so that noshot pellets can become lodged between the protector and the shell tube.Furthermore, if one of the flared portions of a petal. becomes creasedor deformed inwardly, the connecting membranes serve to urge thedeformed petal outwardly toward its original position when the protectoris inserted into the shell tube. The membranes are sufficiently weak,however to tear when the protec tor and shot charge are fired from themuzzle of the shotgun and exposed to air resistance. The flared portionsof the petals tend to act as a scoop to increase air resistance actingon the petals and thereby quickly tear the membranes to permit the petalto flare outwardly in the air to release the shot charge.

A second problem occurring with the prior art shot protectors concernsthe positive positioning of filler wads within the shot pocket. The sameshot protector can. be used with a variety of shot loads if the extraspace within the shot pocket is filled with a filler wad which is seatedagainst the bottom wall of the shot pocket beneath the shot charge. Thefiller wad is placed in the shot pocket before the shot charge isinserted, so that the filler wad, and its position relative to thebottom of the shot pocket determines the volume of shot that can bepoured into the shot pocket. The filler wads are sized to apredetermined volume to cooperate with a shot pocket of predeterminedvolume to define the size of the shot charge. If the filler wad does notseat against the bottom of the'shot pocket, or does not remain seatedagainst the shot pocket bottom during handling before the shot is pouredinto'the pocket,.the amount of shot that can be poured into the shotpocket will be less than the prescribed shot charge for the shell. Theshot pocket of this invention may be equipped with'radially inwardlyextending projections which engage the filler wad in a positive mannerto retain the latter in abutment with the bottom'wall of the shotpocket.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention .to provide a plastic shotprotector adapted to be positioned in a shotshell so as to prevent shotpellets from wedging between the protector and the shotshell wall.

It is a further object of this inventionto provide a shot protector ofthe character described wherein a plurality of petals are disposed todefine the side wall of the shot pocket, the end portions only of thepetals being outwardly flared for stressing contact with the wall of theshotshell.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a shot protectorof the character described wherein adjacent ones of the petals arepartly joined together by a thin web of plastic material so thatadjacent petals are opera-tive l y connected together.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a shot protectorof the character described wherein the shot pocket includes projectionsoperative to positively grip a filler wad to hold the latter in abuttingcontact with the bottom wall of the shot pocket.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomereadily apparent from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a preferred embodiment of the shot protector ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the shot protector taken along line2-2 of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 3 is a top view of the shot protector of FIG. 1 shown in positionwithin a shotshell;

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the shotshell and shot protectortaken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and showing the shot pocket filled withshot pellets; and

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of another shot protector formed inaccordance with this invention but without an obturator and having analternative wad-retaining structure.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a preferred embodiment of the shotprotector of this invention is shown. The shot protector is preferablyformed from a one-piece molded resilient plastic tube of generallycylindrical configuration. The tube includes a side wall 2 which iscylindrical and which is integral with a transverse web 4 having asurface 6 defining the bottom wall of the shot pocket 8. The side wall 2is sub-divided into a plurality of petals 10. Each petal 10 is connectedto the next adjacent petal by means of a thin-walled plastic membrane 12which preferably extends through substantially the entire longitudinaldimension of the opposed edges of adjacent petals 10. The membrane 12 isactually a substantially thinned and weakened extension of the adjacentpetals 10 and serves to intimately interconnect adjacent petals of theshot protector. Forces exerted on any one petal 10 are thus imparted tothe adjacent petals by means of the connecting membrane 12. The strengthand resistance to deformation of each petal 10, particularly to inwardbending or creasing, are in part increased by means of the adjacentpetals and connecting membranes. The forward or upper tip portions ofthe petals 10 are flared outwardly as at 14 to lie at an acute angle tothe axis of the protector. The juncture 16 between the flared tip 14 andthe main portion 10 of each petal is a substantially rigid connectionwhich will tend to resist inward deflection of the flared tips 14. Thuswhen the flared portion 14 of any one petal is moved or deflectedinwardly, the entire petal is put into a stressed state of outwardlydirected tension by means of the rigid juncture l6 and by means of theconnection between the root of the petal and the side wall 2 of theprotector. The petals are thus biased outwardly when the protector isinserted into the shotshell tube. The membranes l2 serve to transmit theoutwardly directed bias of each petal to each of the adjacent petalswhen the protector is inserted into the shotshell tube thereby tendingto correct any inward deformation which may have been inflicted on anyof the petals. The lower or rearward portion of the shot protector ishollowed out, as at 18 beneath the transverse web 4. The side wall ofthe hollow 18 is relatively thin and flexible to form an annular skirt20 which flares outwardly when the shell is fired to obturate the barrelagainst gas leakage as the protector and shot charge are propelledthrough the gun barrel. A plurality of inwardly extending projections 22are formed on the inner surface of the side wall 2 and spaced apart apredetermined distance from the bottom wall 6 of the shot pocket 8. Theprojections 22 act to retain a filler wad in place, as will be explainedin greater detail hereinafter.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the shot protector of FIGS. 1 and 2 isshown positioned within a shotshell 24 having a cylindrical tube 26 inwhich is positioned a base wad 28 of conventional structure, and apropellant charge 30 above the base wad 28. The shot protector hollow 18and obturating skirt 20 overlie the propellant charge 30. The shell alsoincludes a metallic head 32 centrally apertured to receive a primer cup34 of conventional nature. A filler wad 36 is positioned in the shotpocket, the wad 36 being held against the bottom wall 6 of the shotpocket by the projections 22 which overlie the top surface of the fillerwad 36. The projections are sufficiently flexible so as to be deflectedaside when the filler wad is pressed into the shot pocket, butsufficiently rigid to retain the filler wad 36 in place against the shotpocket bottom wall 6 if the protector is jostled or turned upside downduring handling. The projections 22 also prevent the filler wad 36 frombecoming tilted within the shot pocket after initial positioningtherein. When the shot protector is positioned in the tube 26, theflared petal portions 14 are forced toward the axis of the shell, andthe inherent resiliency of the flared portions 14 in turn forces themoutward into snug engagement with the inner wall of the tube 26. Thissnug fit prevents shot pellets from becoming wedged between the petalsand the tube 26 when the shell is loaded. As previously noted, the thinmembranes 12 act to transmit the outwardly directed biasing force ofeach petal l0 and flared portion 14 to each of the adjacent petals andtheir associated flared portions, so that the entire mouth of the shotpocket fits snugly against the shell tube 26 inspite of inwarddeformations which may be present in individual ones of the petals.After the shot protector is positioned in the shell tube 26, a charge ofshot pellets S is poured into the shot pocket. The upper end of theshell may then be closed in any conventional manner, as, for example, bymeans of a crimp closure, a frangible or non-frangible top wad, or thelike.

Referring to FIG. 5, an alternative means for retaining the filler wadin position is shown. The lower portion of the side wall of the shotpocket is formed with a plurality of radially inwardly projecting,longitudinally extending ribs 38 which frictionally engage the side wallof the filler wad to grip the latter and hold it against the bottom wall6 of the shot pocket 8'.

It is readily apparent that the shot protector of this invention caneasily be molded as a unitary plastic body for economy, and will be moredurable during handling and loading operatings, while insuring a snugfit between the mouth of the shot pocket and shell tube so as to preventshot pellets from becoming wedged between the shotshell tube and thewall of the shot pocket. It is, furthermore, apparent that the totalshot load poured into the shot pocket can be more accurately controlledwhen the use of a filler wad is dictated, by means of the radialprojections in the shot pocket which engage and hold the filler wad inplace.

While several preferred embodiments of the invention have been explicityset forth, it is contemplated that obvious modifications therefrom couldbe employed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A shot protector formed from a one-piece plastic body for use with ashotshell, said shot protector comprising:

a. substantially cylindrical wall means sub-divided into a plurality oflongitudinally extending flexible petals of predetermined thicknessdefining at least part of the side wall of a shot pocket, said petalshaving separate tip portions defining a mouth on said shot pocket, saidtip portions being outwardly flared with respect to the remainder ofsaid petals and said tip portions forming means to stressingly forcesaid petals outwardly when said tip portions are deflected inwardly fromtheir outwardly flared positions;

b. a transverse web having a surface defining a closed transverse bottomwall ofsaid shot pocket; and

c. connecting means joining adjacent ones of said petals to provide arupturable connection between said petals.

2. The shot protector of claim 1, wherein said connecting means is amembrane having a wall thickness substantially thinner than the wallthickness ofsaid petals.

3. A shot protector formed from a one-piece plastic body and for usewith a shotshell, said shot protector comprising:

a. cylindrical wall means sub-divided into a plurality of longitudinallyextending flexible petals of predetermined thickness defining at leastpart of the side wall of a shotreceiving pocket;

b. a transverse web having a surface defining a closed transverse bottomwall of said shot-receiving pocket;

c. membrane means joining adjacent side edges of adjacent ones of saidpetals, said membrane means having a wall thickness which issubstantially thinner than the wall thickness of said petals, and saidmembrane means being operative to provide a rupturable connectionbetween adjacent ones of said petals; and

d. outwardly flared separated tip means connected to said petals along asubstantially rigid hinge line, said tip means being operative to biassaid petals outwardly when said tip means are deflected inwardly fromtheir flared positions.

4. The shot protector of claim 3, further comprising a flexible annularskirt extending from said transverse web and substantially coaxial withsaid cylindrical wall, said skirt combining with said transverse web todefine gas obturating means.

5. The shot protector of claim 3, further comprising at least oneradially inwardly projecting protrusion on said cylindrical walloperative to retain a filler wad in position adjacent to said bottomwall of said shot-receiving pocket.

6. The shot protector of claim 5, wherein said protrusion is spacedapart from said bottom wall of said shot-receiving pocket a distanceapproximately equal to the thickness of a filler wad.

7. The shot protector of claim 5, wherein said protrusion is a ribextending longitudinally from said bottom wall of said shot-receivingpocket toward said flared tip means.

8. A shotshell comprising:

a. tubular side wall means;

b. a propellant charge positioned within said tubular side wall means;and

c. a unitary plastic shot protector positioned within said tubular sidewall means and overlying said propellant charge to form a gas obturatingseal thereabove, said shot protector including shot pocket means havinga side wall comprising a plurality of flexible petals of predeterminedwall thickness, outwardly flared tip means connected to said petalsalong a substantially rigid hinge line, said tip means defining themouth of said shot pocket means and said tip means being disposed instressed engagement with said tubular side wall means and operative toposition said petals in a stressed condition to bias said petals againstsaid tubular side wall means, and membrane means interconnectingadjacent ones of said petals to form a rupturable connection betweensaid petals, said membrane means having a wall thickness which issubstantially less than said petal wall thickness, and said membranemeans being operative to transmit stress from one petal to each of thepetals adjacent thereto.

1. A shot protector formed from a one-piece plastic body for use with ashotshell, said shot protector comprising: a. substantially cylindricalwall means sub-divided into a plurality of longitudinally extendingflexible petals of predetermined thickness defining at least part of theside wall of a shot pocket, said petals having separate tip portionsdefining a mouth on said shot pocket, said tip portiOns being outwardlyflared with respect to the remainder of said petals and said tipportions forming means to stressingly force said petals outwardly whensaid tip portions are deflected inwardly from their outwardly flaredpositions; b. a transverse web having a surface defining a closedtransverse bottom wall of said shot pocket; and c. connecting meansjoining adjacent ones of said petals to provide a rupturable connectionbetween said petals.
 2. The shot protector of claim 1, wherein saidconnecting means is a membrane having a wall thickness substantiallythinner than the wall thickness of said petals.
 3. A shot protectorformed from a one-piece plastic body and for use with a shotshell, saidshot protector comprising: a. cylindrical wall means sub-divided into aplurality of longitudinally extending flexible petals of predeterminedthickness defining at least part of the side wall of a shot-receivingpocket; b. a transverse web having a surface defining a closedtransverse bottom wall of said shot-receiving pocket; c. membrane meansjoining adjacent side edges of adjacent ones of said petals, saidmembrane means having a wall thickness which is substantially thinnerthan the wall thickness of said petals, and said membrane means beingoperative to provide a rupturable connection between adjacent ones ofsaid petals; and d. outwardly flared separated tip means connected tosaid petals along a substantially rigid hinge line, said tip means beingoperative to bias said petals outwardly when said tip means aredeflected inwardly from their flared positions.
 4. The shot protector ofclaim 3, further comprising a flexible annular skirt extending from saidtransverse web and substantially coaxial with said cylindrical wall,said skirt combining with said transverse web to define gas obturatingmeans.
 5. The shot protector of claim 3, further comprising at least oneradially inwardly projecting protrusion on said cylindrical walloperative to retain a filler wad in position adjacent to said bottomwall of said shot-receiving pocket.
 6. The shot protector of claim 5,wherein said protrusion is spaced apart from said bottom wall of saidshot-receiving pocket a distance approximately equal to the thickness ofa filler wad.
 7. The shot protector of claim 5, wherein said protrusionis a rib extending longitudinally from said bottom wall of saidshot-receiving pocket toward said flared tip means.
 8. A shotshellcomprising: a. tubular side wall means; b. a propellant chargepositioned within said tubular side wall means; and c. a unitary plasticshot protector positioned within said tubular side wall means andoverlying said propellant charge to form a gas obturating sealthereabove, said shot protector including shot pocket means having aside wall comprising a plurality of flexible petals of predeterminedwall thickness, outwardly flared tip means connected to said petalsalong a substantially rigid hinge line, said tip means defining themouth of said shot pocket means and said tip means being disposed instressed engagement with said tubular side wall means and operative toposition said petals in a stressed condition to bias said petals againstsaid tubular side wall means, and membrane means interconnectingadjacent ones of said petals to form a rupturable connection betweensaid petals, said membrane means having a wall thickness which issubstantially less than said petal wall thickness, and said membranemeans being operative to transmit stress from one petal to each of thepetals adjacent thereto.